Siuslaw News Letters to the Editor

(Editor’s Note: Viewpoint submissions on these and other topics are always welcome as part of our goal to encourage community discussion and exchange of perspectives.)

Latest School Shooting Tragedy

There’s no simple solution for this continuous mindless violence that’s been building for quite a while. A societal breakdown everywhere is more than apparent, considering that our lying leaders and bought legislators are doing everything for their own power and monetary benefit while at the same time stoking turmoil amongst the ignorant to keep the eye off the ball (them).

And, there’s always the constant presented war-mongering propaganda that benefits the “for-profit industrial military complex” — that’s not new by any means.

Add to that, the fact that police are under extreme fire/scrutiny for many obvious documented evidenced wrong doings; that contributes to the problem because it leads to a hesitance of them to rightfully act in certain instances. We don’t know yet (as of my writing on May 28) about this particular one in Uvalde, Texas?

Consider this: the gun shop owner or owners in Texas (and I understand from the media coverage it was one shop where this killer kid was provided most of the deadly items in this instance) who had one iota of a brain cell should have alerted the police to the fact that, “There’s this kid that came into the store a number of times, who had just turned 18, was obviously mentally challenged, from all accounts, buys 2 assault weapons, body armor, and a thousand rounds of ammo.”

Something should have clicked that this is way wrong, even if Texas law allowed it.

I’m all for the vetting and background check process of anyone wanting one of these weapons. Getting them out of the hands of the public will not happen. I myself will keep my “simple weapons” because I’m afraid of any extremists that are attempting to take over this country —that’s not being paranoid, as one recent letter to the editor writer wrote!

I’m just considering what you see via the Ukraine and what transpires in Russia & China. Think it can’t happen here, guess again? Don’t forget that there were military & police that were involved in the Jan. 6 “tourist event” and where the evidence is leading to those that contributed to that promoted event.

Then there’s the fact that this kid was supposedly hooked on violent videos. If people think this doesn’t have some effect in the equation, then they’re as nuts as he was.

And, some of the violent gratuitous movie trash that is allowed is mindless total fictional BS, it’s constantly never ending.

Most importantly, let us not forget the internet component and how its controllers want anything and everything allowed so they can reap the cash flow.

Did I forget the media and its informational limits based on profits with the latest headlines? What about whistleblower Julian Assange or our government-promoted whistleblower from Russia, Alexei Navalny. Freedom of speech is controlled by money, pure and simple.

There’s no common sense left within the legislative branch of government here when one side is all for protecting your freedom to carry “certain weapons” but will not protect a certain segment of the population to control its own body. And, the other side wants total freedom of speech. Insanity is running rampant.

I mean no disrespect for any veteran, I am one, or anyone for that matter — but just want folks to start thinking about where we’re headed and the reasons why we’ve gotten to this point.

We have science deniers, some paid by big corporations only considering short-term profit; we have religious believers who consider anyone that doesn’t believe as they, not worthy of life; we have government officials that act as pimps and whores simultaneously via lobbyists for their own agendas while neighbors, who used to be true neighbors, are fighting each other for the agendas of those in power who don’t represent the common good in any way, shape or form.

If there is a modicum of common sense left, folks better start thinking about what’s needed to preserve our humanity instead of staunchly defending those willing to compromise it for their own personal agendas and gain.

Hopefully I’m going to provoke some thought processes to the inevitable knee-jerk responses to this horrible recent school shooting tragedy.

We as humans have been selecting, for the most part, leaders that care not for our planet, our society, our children or our fellow inhabitants on this planet.

We have been putting off the reality of what we’ve made.

It’s now killing us where it shows the most. Time to change or die in a society that worships, what exactly?

 Jeff Gemutliche — Florence

On A Razor’s Edge

Fourteenth century Franciscan friar and philosopher William of Ockham first postulated what has become known as Occam’s razor. It is usually stated as “the simplest solution is almost always the best solution.”

Our country is in turmoil over the accelerating number of mass shootings, from concert venues to movie theaters to supermarkets to schools. The simplest solution, however, gains no traction, as it has become a political football. Among a number of other possible solutions and one that is very popular in some circles is to arm our teachers.

I am a retired engineer but if, when I had attended my first engineering class, I would be told that to practice my chosen career, I would have to pack a gun, I would have fled that curriculum and never returned. I wonder how many potential teachers would have that same reaction.

Short of implementing the simplest solution, here is a modest proposal that should please everyone, regardless of where they are on the political spectrum.

The NRA has made it abundantly clear that everything proposed so far to minimize mass shootings will never advance any further as long as the NRA has a say in the matter. They are getting increasingly bad press with this position, so they can actually become proactive in the solution and get the entire nation on their side by following this proposal.

I propose the NRA build a series of small, inexpensive kiosks outside of every entrance to every grade school, junior high, high school, college and university. They can recruit volunteers from their members to staff all these kiosks from one hour before students arrive to one hour after the janitorial staff locks up each building. They will be requested to bring their own favorite weapons and ammunition. If there are insufficient numbers of volunteers, NRA can use funds normally used to influence lawmakers and hire additional personnel.

As with the volunteers, these would need to be carefully screened to eliminate anyone showing signs of mental illness.

While approaching a school entrance, even “bad guys” who attempt to enter school buildings would probably deduce that using an entrance next to one of these kiosks would be a bad idea. In any event, such individuals would get no further.

If this proves effective, and I will almost guarantee it will, then the same solution can be applied to churches, supermarkets, hospitals and any other location after a mass shooting has occurred in a similar location.

While I still think Occam’s razor is a better solution, applying this proposal will no doubt, keep little kids and all the rest of us safe in the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Kenneth Janowski — Florence